Czech javelin throwers win two more medals at Tokyo Olympic Games

Czech javelin throwers Jakub Vadlejch and Vítězslav Veselý won silver and gold medals, respectively, at the men's javelin throw in Tokyo this afternoon. Only India's Neeraj Chopra recorded a longer distance than the Czech teammates.

The silver and bronze bring the Czech Republic's total medal count at this year's Olympics up to 11, making this the most successful Summer Olympics in the country's history since splitting with Slovakia in 1993.

Czech teammates Vadlejch and Veselý both recorded their longest javelin throws of the year in Tokyo earlier today.

Chopra, who also won the qualifying round, started the final strong with 87.03 meter throw. On subsequent attempts, he would up that distance to 87.58 meters. He is just the second athlete from India to ever win an individual Olympic event after sport shooter Abhinav Bindra.

Vadlejch, who had previously won silver in the javelin throw at the World Cup four years ago, came in second again with a 86.67-meter throw.

Veselý came in third with a throw of 85.44 meters. He had previously won bronze at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, but only after Ukraine's Oleksandr Pyatnytsia was disqualified for doping.

The Czech Republic has a strong history in the javelin throw event.

Jan Železný, considered by many to be the greatest javelin thrower in the modern era, won three consecutive golds at the 1992, 1996, and 2000 Olympic Games. He also owns the current world record for longest throw, at a distance of 98.48 meters.

Železný was in attendance at the Tokyo Olympic Games today, watching Vadlejch and Veselý win two medals for the Czech Republic.

With a day of games left to go, the Tokyo Olympics have been the Czech Republic's most successful, with athletes from the Czech team winning four gold, four silvers, and three bronze medals.

Last weekend, judoka Lukáš Krpálek won his second consecutive Olympic gold despite moving up in weight class, while tennis doubles duo Barbora Krejčíková and Kateřina Siniaková defeated their Swiss opponents to score the Czech Republic's first-ever Olympic tennis gold.

Like Vadlejch and Veselý today, Jiří Lipták and David Kostelecký had previously won a pair of medals in the trap shooting event, earning gold and silver.